Our View: Count on real farmers for leadership

Monday

Aug 15, 2016 at 3:26 PMAug 15, 2016 at 3:26 PM

Bristol County Farm Bureau President Darrin Mendes helped the editorial board with its continuing education last week when he requested that we stop using the word "farm" to describe the deplorable conditions on 70 acres off Route 177 in Westport shut down last month with more than 1,000 animals on it.

It should have been obvious to us, knowing how prevalent good agricultural practices are in Southeastern Massachusetts. The agricultural operations run by many successful, responsible livestock producers should never be confused with the squalor now the subject of a criminal investigation and the largest ASPCA action in the nation.

Education around responsible farming, and in particular around raising livestock, needs improvement, Mr. Mendes told the editorial board on Friday. He was joined by fellow Dartmouth resident and farmer Andy Burns to discuss a range of agricultural issues, who said he had been the beneficiary of 25 years of mentoring by an established cattleman. Mr. Burns is also the president of the Livestock Institute of Southern New England, which hopes to open a USDA-approved facility on Route 6 in Westport that will serve livestock producers from eastern Connecticut to the Cape and Islands.

With the closing of a custom meat processing facility several years ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began to explore the need for a local USDA facility, which would allow producers to resell the processed meat, a standard that a custom facility doesn’t reach.

That was when these local farmers began a new phase of their own education.

Representatives of the Livestock Institute, which uses the acronym TLI, went to Mr. Mendes' alma mater Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton with an offer to share best practices and innovations. The school jumped at the opportunity, they said, because adults were frequently turning there for information on animal care, safety and husbandry. The school’s Large Animal program has attracted students more interested in veterinary medicine than in beef production in recent years, and as Mr. Burns noted, his capacity to learn hadn’t disappeared despite his long experience in the field, no pun intended.

With several workshops under their belts and more planned, including a livestock conference at the school Nov. 5, we see proactive education of the type that makes folks better able to properly raise animals for consumption.

Also last week, Sylvan neighbor Round the Bend Farm topped the frame of a new post and beam education center with a bough of Douglas fir to ward off the bad and invite success. Their community supported agriculture programs provide sustainably raised vegetables and meat to area residents, with, among several missions, a redefinition of wealth that has more to do with health than money.

And on Sunday, Bristol County Farm Bureau members gathered at Chamberlain Farm in Berkley for a pig roast featuring local cheeses, beers, wines, seafood, meat, juices and ice cream, which attracted, among others, the statewide president of Massachusetts Farm Bureau, the Aggie School's superintendent, and three state representatives with deep ties to agriculture: Republicans Keiko Orrall and Steven Howitt, of Lakeville and Seekonk, respectively, and Democrat Paul Schmid of Westport.

Responsible agriculture is alive and well in Southeastern Massachusetts. More education will attract more students — adult and youth alike — to better practices that give the region better food options, and that ensure better care for the animals we raise.

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